Many
people are under the impression that the hymen is located
within the vagina. It is not. It’s a mucous membrane
that is part of the vulva, the external genital organs.
It’s located outside the vagina. The hymen is
a layer of tissue, just like the tissue around the opening
of your vagina that partially conceals the vaginal orifice.
You may or may not have one, most females do. The hymen
is not an indicator of virginity; a girl is a virgin until
she has been penetrated by a penis.
The
hymen is named after the Greek God Hymenaeus - the God of
marriage and weddings, FYI.
During
the early stages of fetal development there is no opening
into the vagina at all. The thin layer of tissue that conceals
the vagina at this time usually divides incompletely prior
to birth, forming the hymen. The size and shape of this
opening (or openings) varies greatly from person to person.
Sometimes
this formation of an opening does not occur, resulting in
an imperforated hymen (it lacks the more common opening).
Some females have no hymen at birth at all, since the tissue
divided completely while they were still in the womb.
Many
girls and teens tear or otherwise dilate their hymen while
participating in sports like bicycling, horseback riding,
gymnastics or inserting tampons, or while masturbating.
A girl may not even know this has occurred, since there
may be little or no blood or pain involved when this happens.
The tissues of the vulva are generally very thin and delicate
prior to puberty. The presence
or absence of a hymen in no way indicates whether or not
a female is a virgin. * You are a virgin until you have
sexual intercourse.*
Some
hymens are elastic enough to permit a penis to enter without
tearing, or they tear only partially, and there is NO bleeding
at all. When adequately lubricated the vagina is fairly
'flexible' and will stretch without discomfort for most
women. Sometimes, a woman has sex for years with no real
'tearing' at all, only stretching of the hymen and then
at another time the same woman might tear from 'rough sex'
or sex with a different partner with a larger penis. Remnants
of the hymen are usually still present until a woman delivers
a baby vaginally.
Sure,
see what your vagina looks like
with a mirror, it's your body, you should not be afraid
of it . Some young women seem to obsess over what is 'normal'.
So, put away the mirror after you know what is normal for
you. You might see that your labia change as you get older,
they might get a bit darker in color or longer, or not change
at all. This is not abnormal, unless you are an adult. It
is important to know what your body looks like, so
you can tell when there is a change or something to see
your health care provider about, but don’t obsess over
what it is 'supposed to' look like. All of our faces look
different and none of our vaginas look exactly the same
either. That’s all I have to say about hymens and vaginas
for now.
I have
some diagrams of different hymens, but some sponsor think
they are not appropriate for me to show, even for educational
purposes. However, there is a page that does have a photograph
of the anatomy of the female vagina.
It’s not that hard to find if you do a search. AND,
speaking of sponsors, if you would kindly click on the banner
ads on the top of the page or on the left here that helps
keep this site on the web. That’s who helps me continue
to bring you information, kind of like commercials on TV,
they are annoying, but they are a reality of our world.
Thank you in advance!
I am
asked about hymens almost as much as about masturbation
and penis size. I thought it
was time to try to address this subject and hopefully end
the confusion. I have written about the hymen in the Sexuality
FAQ pages also.
I want
this site to provide accurate information for teens and
young adults about their bodies. I often do so at the risk
of losing potential sponsors - they often don’t appreciate
honest information, but the hymen shouldn't be such a mystery.
When
I was a teen in the 1970s, there were the same myths and
misinformation that I am hearing today from readers. Maybe
some things don’t really change so much.
~ Amy, RN, BSN, Founder/Publisher, Cool Nurse ~
For more on your GYN
health go to that section.
Your body shouldn’t be a mystery to you. For more on
sexual health see:
